Technology has changed the way your children communicate and socialise.

Social networking sites like www.myspace.com and www.facebook.com can be fun to use as well as an effective way for young people to link up with friends and people who have similar interests. Get a facebook page- it gives you access to their comments and you can see their friends.

However, as with many online environments, there are some risks involved in interacting with others and putting personal information online. Such risks can include cyberbullying, exposure to anti-social or illegal material, and being targeted by sex offenders or others who may wish to cause harm.

Personal safety

Your teen may meet a lot of new friends online and it’s important to discuss with them that until they actually know this person, or have met them in real life, they are a stranger. You miss a lot of crucial information about a person online- the sound of their voice, their body language, all of the intuitive sort of information you pick up when someone is physically close.

Risks children and young people may face:

• They may meet people in online who want to frighten, bully or harm them; there is no way of knowing who these new ‘friends’ are.
• They may agree to a face to face meeting with someone they have been talking to in a chat room or via email/text. This person might be someone who wishes to harm them.
• They may see images that upset or disturb them, such as extreme violence or illegal pornography.
• They may be encouraged to participate in illegal activities such as trading in illegal pornography, manufacturing explosives or drugs, harassment, defrauding or hacking.
• They may not question the truth of what they see in cyberspace. (Anyone can post information on the Internet, including anti-social groups looking for new members.)
• They may treat others badly when chatting in cyberspace.
• They may become ‘addicted’ to activities in cyberspace and neglect healthy social activities, family and homework.

Tips for parents to keep their children safer online:

• Get involved in your teen’s online life
  
• Check in with them about online and offline friends
  
• Find out how they and their friends help each other deal with online problems
  
• Ask them to show you what they like doing online (don’t be afraid if you don’t know how to use the technology as well as they do –they may enjoy being the ones to show you!) 
  
• Try to keep calm if there are online issues (kids often stop talking to adults if they think parents will react badly or take away the technology)
  
• Find out about online risks (for example, learn how to stop cyberbullying/textbullying and harassment, spot online grooming) and discuss how your children are currently managing those risks.
• Keep the home computer/s in a family area rather than a private area such as the child's bedroom. This will help you monitor what your child is doing online
• Talk to your children about their use of mibile phones and internet and the risks associated with this.Negotiate a 'use agreement' with them which applies anywhere
• Even if you feel extremely worried when your children tell you about things that upset them in cyberspace, respond calmly; if you react to strongly your child may hesitate to confide in you again
• Find out about software and services that can help you keep your home computer safe, such as filtering and security options